#neil aldridge

[sitting-on-me-bum]

As catadromous creatures, European and American eels spawn in marine waters and then swim to fresh water—like this wetland in England—to live.

Photo by Neil Aldridge/Minden Pictures

[mitjalovse]

We have noticed that many probable retirement albums end up being released after the lengthy hiatuses, so we can't really call them the finales, but one does ask oneself about their deals. For instance, ///CODENAME: dustsucker was Bark Psychosis' follow-up to their incredible debut. They did take a lot of time perfecting the LP, but nothing happened since then. I assume Mr. Sutton's work as a producer – his project does present us with someone who knows a way around a studio – causes him to move away from Bark Psychosis, yet we shouldn't be sad over the event. If ///CODENAME: dustsucker ends up being their last disc, we should be glad, since they finished their careers with a positively puzzling collection of – I use the term here tentatively – songs.

[driptape]

[longliverockback]

Whitesnake Best of Whitesnake 2003 EMI ————————————————— Tracks: 01. Fool for Your Loving 02. Don’t Break My Heart Again 03. Love Ain’t No Stranger 04. Is This Love 05. Now You’re Gone 06. Give Me All Your Love 07. Ready an’ Waiting 08. Guilty of Love 09. Would I Lie to You 10. Long Way from Home 11. The Deeper the Love 12. Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City 13. Too Many Tears 14. Give Me More Time 15. Standing in the Shadow 16. Here I Go Again 17. Still of the Night —————————————————

* Long Live Rock Archive

[dotspoetrycorner]

Rise of the Pink Ladies: Cynthia x OC

Chapter 1: Stranded at the Drive- In

Word count (accumulative): 469

Ella’s POV

“You have to come! It’s the last day of summer, everyone’s gonna be there”

I was on the phone with Dot, her trying to convince me to go to the drive-in with everyone. I haven’t gotten out much this summer, stayed inside, kept my head down, my only socialization has been weekly phone calls with Dot. She continues after a moment of waiting for my answer, “Everyone really misses you! It’s like we haven’t seen you since my school’s out party, but you left that early to-“ 

“I’ll go.”

I don’t even know why I said it, I just wanted her to stop talking.

“Perfect! We’re all driving in together. We’ll pick you up at 7:30. Neil’s driving.” 

Neil. The name I’ve been avoiding seeing, hearing, or thinking about all summer. I look at the clock: 7. I need to do anything and everything I can to distract myself and get out of my head for 30 minutes. I do everything I can think of: Change my outfit four ties until finding the perfect one, curling my hair, focusing on getting the perfect eyeliner and color of lipstick. As I finish, almost on cue, a car beeps outside my window. I run out of my room as fast as I can yelling “I’m going to the drive-in before shutting the door. 

I walk out and there they all are: Dot, Rosmary, Peg, and… Neil. “Hey princess, I was starting to think I’d never see you again.” Why would he ever think it’s okay to call me that?! I couldn’t think of a comeback so I just went to get in the car. Everyone else had taken a seat in the back so I had no choice but to sit up front. With him. I tried pressing myself as close to the door as I could but Neil still put his hand on my thigh, at least it was over my skirt this time. I couldn’t say anything so I simply had to sit there and try and think about absolutely anything else. 

Finally we arrived at the drive-in. We all climbed out and started walking around. Thankfully Neil left to go find some friends, but not before telling me to find him hen the movie started so we could be alone, which made me want to throw up. After walking around for a while, the girls got distracted by seeing Jane Facciano wearing Buddy Aldridge’s letterman jacket and they went to go find Susan to check on her. All I wanted to do was find a spot to watch the movie that wasn’t Neil’s car. I told Dot I ws going to find a spot to sit and went on my way. But I forgot the most important rule: There’s safety in numbers.

[grandmaster-anne]

Court Circular | 10th March 2023

Buckingham Palace

His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa (Secretary General, Muslim World League) was received by The King this afternoon. His Majesty this evening attended the Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall, London SW7, and was received by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London (Sir Kenneth Olisa).

Kensington Palace

The Prince of Wales, President, the Earthshot Prize, this morning received Ms. Hannah Jones (Chief Executive) at Windsor Castle.

St. James's Palace

Today is the Anniversary of the Birthday of The Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh this afternoon attended a Reception at Edinburgh City Chambers, 253 High Street, Edinburgh, in support of members of the Ukrainian community and were received by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh (Councillor Robert Aldridge, the Rt. Hon. the Lord Provost).

St. James's Palace

The Princess Royal this afternoon visited Special Quality Alloys Limited, Bessemer Road, Sheffield. Her Royal Highness afterwards visited ITM Power plc, 2 Bessemer Park, Sheffield. The Princess Royal, Patron, the Vine Trust, this evening held a Dinner at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and was received by the Reverend Neil Gardner (Deputy Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh).

Kensington Palace

The Duke of Gloucester, Grand Prior, the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, this morning invested Mr. Stuart Shilson as Prior of the Priory of England and the Islands at the Priory Church, St. John's Square, London EC1, and was received by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London (Sir Kenneth Olisa). His Royal Highness, Royal Patron, Temple Bar Trust, this afternoon attended the Ceremony of the Official Opening of the Gates of Temple Bar in Paternoster Square, London EC4. The Duchess of Gloucester, Colonel-in-Chief, Royal Bermuda Regiment, was present at the Memorial Service to commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the assassination of Lieutenant Colonel Sir Richard Sharples (formerly Governor of Bermuda) and his Aide-de-Camp, Captain Hugh Sayers, which was held in the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London SW1, today.

[detectivereads]

Spooky/Fall Season TBR 2023

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to write down my TBR for the fall/spooky season and mention some of the new books that are coming out this year. These titles are the ones I read every year and I highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for a spooky book to read (or really any murder mysteries, it feels like this is the prefect season to read Murder Mysteries).

~Books that are on my TBR~ : (Pretty much I recommend everything on this list)

Coraline by Neil Gailman

Halloween Tree by Ray Bardbury

Pumpkin Heads

Nancy Drew (This and the next few are perfect for the cozy weather)

Judy Bolton

Dana Sisters

Connie Blair

Hardy Boys

Scary Godmother

Edgar Allen Poe

The Invisible man

Nightmare Before Christmas Long Live the Pumpkin Queen

Bunnicula

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

Garlic and the Vampire

Garlic and the Witch

Halloween Party by Agatha Christie (first time I am going to read this)

Sherlock Holmes

Then there was none by Agatha Christie

Addams family

Goosebumps books

Mirror Lake By Juneau Black

The House of Lost Horizon Sarah Jewell mystery

Sleepy Hallow by Washington Irving

Harry Potter (I also read these around Xmas time too)

~OP Books I recommend~

The Shady Hallow mysteries. I love this series and it feels like you can read this series no matter what time of year but the big ones that I recommend from this series are Cold Clay & Mirror Lake.

I love Mirror Lake the most out of the series and the description of food and the autumn ambience is wonderful.

~Soon to release books (I hope)~ :

DeepHaven by Ethan M. Aldridge- I saw the artwork that this author has been posting and I thought it was gorgeous. I did some digging but did not really want to spoil it too much for myself. I am getting very Eldritch horror vibes from the artwork.

Unfamiliar vol 2 by Haley Newsome- I am in love with this series, it has magic it has witches it has food. What more could I ask for.

Twilight Falls by Juneau Black- This is one of my highly anticipated books that are coming out this year. I love the Shady Hollow Mysteries series, this come out after November, but I am still super hype for it.

 Tim Burton’s Nightmare before Christmas the Battle for Pumpkin King by Dan Conner- I have been collecting anything really Nightmare for a few a years now and when I saw this I freaked, I can’t wait for it.

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree- I loved Legends & Lattes and when I found it there was going to be a 2nd book, I was thrilled I can’t wait for it.

Catch me If you Candy by Ellie Alexander- Recently I have been wanting to get more cozy mysteries and this series is like one of the biggest series I have seen. I am hoping to start collecting the series soon.

~New Books~ :

Most of these books are going to be Cozy Mysteries. I love Mysteries and Cozy Mysteries are right in my alley. First of all, I will not spoil mysteries for anyone if I can help it, so I will keep description vague. Most of these books are new to me and I am keeping myself blind incept for like the over storyline. (These are not new releases they are just new to me)

Fatal Fudge Swirl by Meri Allen- this is the third book in the Ice Cream Shop Mysteries books, I am trying to collect the others and read them in order. So, this mystery takes place around Halloween and there is a wedding, and tragedy strikes at the wedding.

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah- this is another cozy that takes place around time Halloween time. Halloween time is here, and our MC Lindsey is not really jazzed about it, because she lives in the town spooky haunted lighthouse, so teenagers make it a test of courage to come up and scare each other silly.  However, this year her best friend asked to do a spooky episode for her social media what was supposed to be a night of ghost hunting and fun scares turns sinister.

One Poison Pie by Lynn Cahoon- Now this one doesn’t take place on around Halloween (as far from what I know I haven’t not read this book yet, so I fix this later if I am wrong) but it’s having to do with witches and what’s better she is an amateur detective kitchen witch. Mia is our main character and right now she has hit a rough patch in her life when boyfriend has left her greener pastures and she is now jobless. So, she heads back home to her grandma’s house. It’s the first book in this series so I don’t know too much about it.

A Batter of Life and Death by Ellie Alexander- the only thing I know is that this book takes place in fall and I just starting to get into the Bakeshop Mystery series. So, I am keeping my self-blind and I can’t wait to read it.

No Parm No Foul by Linda Reilly- this is the second book in the grilled cheese shop mystery, and it takes place around Halloween. I read the first book and I like it, so I want to try to get the second to see how it is.

[readingrobin]

Booklr Countdown

Tagged by @agardenandlibrary! Thanks so much!

🎋 5 Books I’m loving/have loved:

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

The October Country by Ray Bradbury

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

🎋 4 auto-buy authors:

Neil Gaiman

Aiden Thomas

Margaret Rogerson

Ethan Aldridge

🎋 3 genres I love:

Fantasy

Horror/Paranormal

Coming of age if that counts

🎋 2 places I love to read:

My bed

In my den

🎋 1 book/series I promised to read:

Sooooo in high school I promised my friend I would read the Ranger's Apprentice series if she read Twilight. She has since read Twilight. I have yet to read The Ruins of Gorlan. It's been thirteen years.

I'm tagging @bookcub @logarithmicpanda @abookblog @readaroundtherosie @bookphile and anyone else who would like to join in!

[entomoblog]

Biodiversité : la Gironde expérimente la réintroduction d'insectes qui avaient disparu depuis 60 ans

See on Scoop.it - EntomoNews

Le bousier a disparu dans les années 1960 de la réserve naturelle de l’étang de Cousseau, en Gironde. Après une première vague en 2023, de nouveaux scarabées ont été relâchés début mai.

  Guillaume Farriol

Radio France

  Publié le 12/05/2024 13:33

  "Quatre-vingts de ces Scarabaeus laticollis – leur nom scientifique – sont ainsi relâchés, 60 ans après la disparition de l’espèce à cause des vermifuges administrés au bétail. "La bouse devient stérile en fait, et le bousier s'y retrouve pas car il ne peut pas pondre dans la bouse. Donc forcément, ce n'est pas un environnement qui lui convient", explique le responsable scientifique de la réserve.

Un complément plus qu'une solution

Désormais les vaches de la réserve ne sont plus traitées : les scarabées devraient pouvoir jouer leur rôle en recyclant les bouses, et s’épanouir.  Mais pour en être certain, il faudra du temps. "C'est la première réintroduction d'insectes en France, indique Cyril Forchelet."

(...)

  [Image] Des scarabées sont réintroduits au sein de la réserve naturelle de l’étang de Cousseau en Gironde, début mai 2024. (NEIL ALDRIDGE / REWILDING EUROPE)

[energy-slider]

At Rhino Revolution we believe passionately that these unique creatures deserve respite. As the worlds most illegally trafficked animal, driven to the verge of extinction, they have now been accurately implicated, along with bats, in the creation of Carona virus. This is all through mans inhumane treatment of our planets wildlife.They belong in the wild.They deserve a free existence. We have to learn better and expect change. The final abomination would be to blame for the most innocent victims of all.

Image of a RR rescued pangolin by Neil Aldridge.

[legends-of-time]

The Strength of a High and Noble Hill (Outlander)

Chapter 15: Loss

Masterlist

Brian and Ellen both have to deal with the loss of their mother. Get used to the fact that she's not nearby anymore but centuries in the past.

Brian throws himself headfirst into his work. He works longer hours to keep his mind off things. He doesn't want to be in the house on his own, thinking about Mama, about the real truth of his past.

He's even tried going on dates with some of the girls from work, but it doesn't work, doesn't feel right.

Ellen returns to university but this time she changes her major to mechanical engineering. She completes her degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the spring of 1971. Brian is there in the audience, clapping away and trying to be enough for Ellen as he notices that little dip in her smile as she walks onto the stage, accepts her diploma and looks out to the audience. Brian knows she wishes Mama and Dad were here, but they catch eyes, and her smile widens. They're going to be alright.

——

Brian watches with a smile as Ellen gets spun around by Roger, who's in his Highland dress, to the beat of Celtic music. Roger had returned to the States again to visit Brian and Ellen and had taken them to a Celtic festival. Roger had shown off his singing skills on stage by singing a song about the Battle of Prestonpans. Brian had felt a shiver up his spine as he listened. It was a battle that his parents were both at, Jamie leading the charge. What had been going through their heads?

July 1969

Brian has been enjoying the Scottish pride he's surrounded by. The music filling him with familial ease.

Ellen and Roger's relationship has been interesting. Brian knows Ellen had kept her distance as she and Brian try to rebuild their lives after losing Mama as well as Ellen trying to complete school. Brian had encouraged her as while he likes Roger, he knows that Ellen can't just throw herself into a relationship just because he happens to know the truth. Brian just wants his sister to work out if this is what she really wants.

As he watches the two, Brian wonders if she has made that decision. He thumbs the envelope in his pocket. Roger had found photographs of Dad and Mama when they were young and happy, including photos of their wedding. It's strange to look at those photographs, thinking of the journey this couple will embark on, and how they end up.

"Brian!" Brian startled out of his thoughts to see Ellen beckoning him over with her hand and Roger smiling encouragingly.

"Oh, no I—" Brian tries to dissuade.

"Oh, come on!" And with that, Brian gets pulled onto the dance floor by his sister.

Roger grins at him. Brian beams back and lets himself get pulled into the music.

——

"Houston, Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed."

They erupt into cheers. Among the cheers, Ellen turns and kisses Roger. It's the next day after the festival and Brian, Roger and Ellen have gathered at Joe's to watch the moon landing.

Joe's kids, Lenny and Ellena, pull Brian into their group hug while Gail grins and pulls Joe into a kiss.

"That's one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind." Comes Neil Armstrong's voice through the speaker as the grainy images of him and Buzz Aldridge stepping out onto the moon's surface are displayed on the screen.

Brian looks out of the window, up into the sky. Yes, they'd made it to the moon, but he's travelled further than that.

Brian feels this pull inside him, a desire to discover and explore, to travel.

"Neil, this is Houston. We're copying."

——

They spend the Christmas holidays in Scotland with Roger and Fiona and her fiancé Ernie Buchan. Their home in Boston feels too small with just the two of them and it doesn't feel right to do all their old Christmas traditions without Mama.

December 1969

Being in a different place for their first Christmas without her makes things easier but it doesn't hurt any less.

Brian and Ellen have already put up the house for sale. If either can move on, if it's possible, then they need to be somewhere else. Somewhere where they're not surrounded by old memories.

——

Brian stares at the words in front of him in bold, faded ink.

1971

"It is with grief that the news is received of the deaths by fire of James MacKenzie Fraser and his wife, Claire Fraser, in a conflagration that destroyed their house in the settlement of Fraser's Ridge, on the night of January 21 last."

He and Ellen look up and share a look.

They'd gotten around to clearing out Dad's office, all the documents in there. It's been closed off since the initial sort through after his death. The house has been sold and they need to clear out.

Brian looks back at the date. January 21st, 1776. He doesn't know why it shocks him. His mother is in the past – two hundred years in the past – of course, she's dead by now but to see it confirmed hurts, especially as it's only ten years after the year at which she would've arrived in.

"I..." Ellen's voice trails off as she tries to find the right words. "I- I've seen this before."

Brian looks at her sharply. "What do you mean?"

A tear falls down Ellen's cheek. Brian reaches over to grip her hand; she smiles softly at him.

"It was years ago. I'd forgotten till now." Ellen explains. "I'd sneaked into Daddy's office when he was out and had found it on his desk, I just thought it was part of one of his research projects."

Brian sighs, squeezing her hand. "He knew. Dad knew that Mama would go back to Jamie." There's a brief silence as they stare at the document in front of them, both lost in their own heads. "What do we do?"

"We need to warn them." Ellen says resolutely.

Brian looks at her shocked. "Ellen... they're both two hundred years in the past, how can we?"

"We travel back too, obviously."

"Ellen, I, we can't just pop to the past and pop back again." Brian argues. He knows his sister wants to protect their mother and her husband, their father, Brian understands that, but it's too big of a risk.

"You don't have to. I'll go, warn them and then come back." Ellen declares, not listening.

Brian grips her shoulders. "I can't let you do this on your own. I won't."

"You either come with me or I'm going on my own." Ellen retorts. "I have to go Brian, I have to."

"I know, I know." Brian sighs, he can't believe he's doing this. "So, what do we need?"

The beaming smile he receives makes him feel that this'll all be worth it.

——

A/N: Please leave comments on how you're enjoying this story and what you think.

[screenandcinema]

Coming Attractions February 2023

As usual, we present monthly previews of new movies being released. These are the movies that will be hitting your local cinemas (and streaming services) this month:

February 3rd

Knock at the Cabin - M. Night Shyamalan’s newest film stars Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, and Rupert Grint and is based on the 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World.

80 for Brady - Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Sally Field, and Rita Moreno star alongside Tom Brady in this ensemble comedy about four women going to Super Bowl LI.

Marlowe - Liam Neeson is Philip Marlowe in this neo-noir crime thriller from Neil Jordan, the director of Interview with the Vampire.

February 10th

Magic Mike’s Last Dance - Channing Tatum and Steven Soderbergh reteam for the third and final installment of the Magic Mike trilogy. 

Sharper - Julianne Moore leads a cast that includes Sebastian Stan, Justice Smith, and John Lithgow in this psychological drama coming to theaters on February 10th before hitting AppleTV+ on February 17th.

Your Place or Mine - Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher star in this romantic comedy about house-swapping friends for Netflix.

Somebody I Used to Know - Dave Franco directs and Alison Brie stars in this romantic comedy that they co-wrote together for Amazon Prime.

February 17th

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - Jonathan Majors in Kang the Conqueror in this third installment of the Ant-Man film series and the first film in Marvel Studios’ Phase Five.

Emily - Emma Mackey is Emily Brontë in this biographical drama about the author of Wuthering Heights.

February 24th

We Have a Ghost - David Harbour is a ghost in Anthony Mackie’s house in this Netflix comedy that reminds me a lot of E.T. 

Cocaine Bear - Elizabeth Banks directs this black comedy thriller about the hijinks that ensure when a black bear eats a bag of cocaine - inspired by true events.

Now for a quick look ahead to February my top picks for next month are Creed III, John Wick: Chapter 4, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

-MB-

[tiefighters]

Boba the Builder

Art by Neil Aldridge

[mitjalovse]

The term post-rock is used for quite disparate bands, though I would say they all want to move beyond the conventions of rock, but the means to get there differ from one group to another. I mean, Seefeel are basically an ambient outfit with guitars, whereas Bark Psychosis are jazzists, which happen to work within the rock idiom. Speaking of the latter, they should be seen as the Enos of the genre, i.e. they didn't establish the brand, they merely elucidated what the entire thing is all about. However, their post-rock doesn't suggest a collection of cliches about such a style in a neat package, there's a sense they're going towards the uncharted paths without any intentions. Sure, you can hear their precursors, yet they construct their own sonic identity that includes these markers.

[longliverockback]

Whitesnake Here I Go Again: The Whitesnake Collection 2002 Geffen ————————————————— Tracks CD One: 01. Here I Go Again 02. Slide It In 03. Slow an’ Easy 04. Love Ain’t No Stranger 05. All or Nothing 06. Gambler 07. Guilty of Love 08. Hungry for Love 09. Give Me More Time 10. Spit It Out 11. Standing in the Shadow 12. Crying in the Rain 13. Bad Boys 14. Still of the Night 15. Here I Go Again 16. Give Me All Your Love 17. Is This Love 18. Children of the Night

Tracks CD Two: 01. Straight for the Heart 02. Don’t Turn Away 03. You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again 04. Looking for Love 05. Give Me All Your Love 06. Need Your Love So Bad 07. Slip of the Tongue 08. Cheap an’ Nasty 09. Fool for Your Loving 10. Now You’re Gone 11. Kittens Got Claws 12. Wings of the Storm 13. The Deeper the Love 14. Judgement Day 15. Slow Poke Music 16. Sailing Ships 17. Sweet Lady Luck —————————————————

* Long Live Rock Archive

[dotspoetrycorner]

Rise of the Pink Ladies Cynthia x Reader Part 4

Chapter 4: Rule the School

Ella’s POV

Word Count: 2.6k 

First day of junior year. Last night everyone was abuzz about Jane and Buddy going all the way. Susan ended up staying on the phone with me until 1 am venting about how upset she was, even letting in slip that her and Buddy had done it last year after he told her they’d be together forever. I feel bad for her, she thought he was only going to be with her and she trusted him, just for him to go with another girl? I kept trying to tell her that Buddy’s the enemy and not Jane but she wouldn’t listen and kept shooting me down. But I shouldn’t have expected anything else since she also didn’t believe me about me and Neil. 

Keep my head down. Make it through the year. Go along with everything they say. Blend in. 

I got ready for school, said goodbye to my parents, and waited on the doorstep for Susan and her mom to come get me. Once at school we met up with Dot and Rosemary and started walking to our lockers, which were all next to each other.

“Hi Ella!”, I turned around to see the t-birds, Shy Guy waving at me. I smiled and waved back before turning back around and continuing on my way. 

“What was that?” Dot asked, raising her eyebrows, “What? Nothing. We sat and watched the movie together last night.” I replied, praying they would believe my and not brand me a slut for life. “Ella, why are you trying to steal my thunder?”  Susan interjected. “What?” I genuinely had no idea what she was talking about. “I was supposed to be the only one to get with a t-bird.” “Calm down. I was just being nice. I don’t get what the big deal is.” Then Rosemary stepped in, “You can’t ‘just be nice’ to a t-bird, they’re jds,” she stopped walking and put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me too “Remember before you were friends with us? When you hung around that weird girl-“ “Cynthia” I corrected, “-what if you hung around those people again? Then where would you be? Here you always have some one to lend you a mirror or tell you if your lipstick smudged. Real friends.” 

They like all the things I like, they listen to all my little problems, they’re just looking out for me. I repeat it over and over. They like all the things I like, they listen to all my problems. They’re just looking out of me. Except they don’t ever want to talk about movies or books, they didn’t believe me when I told them about Neil, they let him take me home even after I told them what happened.

Cynthia. Cynthia remembered my favorite candy after 6 years. She would always sit and listen about the book I was reading. She came and stopped Neil at the drive in… No. These are my friends and they’re the only way all make it until graduation.

We eventually made it to our lockers then headed off to our respective classes, not having time all together until lunch. 

The day went as expected, classes but not much actual learning for the first day,     until lunch. I walked out of the school to find my way to our table when Jane Facciano stopped me.

“Hello, you may have heard some rumors about me and Buddy Aldridge.” She paused, almost as if she expected me to interrupt her, but I simply looked at her waiting for her to continue. “Wow, no one’s let me get this far. Um, whatever you heard about me and Buddy, or my life in New York, It’s not true.” That makes sense. But it doesn’t matter what I think. I decided to give her a word of advice, “Jane, I believe you, but it really doesn’t matter what did or didn’t happen, if people think you and Buddy went all the way, you. Might as well have. No one’s going to listen to your story, and Buddy’s not going to deny it.” 

She seemed surprised but I walked away before she could respond. I finally got to sit down with my friends and eat my lunch before going back to the routines of school.